Trends seem to come and go in no time at all these days. That’s why it should come as no surprise that ‘That Girl’ has already evolved into something else. But how long with ‘Lucky Girl’ syndrome last?
It feels like only yesterday that I was writing about That Girl. Yes, she’s privileged and is able to devote her time and energy to being That Girl, I argued, but she can also provide some health and wellness inspiration that’s very *aesthetic*.
But now, That Girl has disappeared from my Instagram feed (and if you’re not a follower of me on the Gram, here’s a shameless plug). Where has she gone? Has she ditched her 5am wake up time? Is she still doing pilates everyday, following by drinking ‘detox’ lemon water?
Well, the honest truth is that That Girl hasn’t gone anywhere, she’s just realised how lucky she really is. Oh yes, Lucky Girl Syndrome is here, and it’s all about realising how good you have things, and how good things are going to be in the future.
Here’s how you spot a Lucky Girl
First of all, she’s probably posting TikToks and Reels with the following affirmation, or something very similar:
I am so lucky
Everything works out for me
I’m always in the right place at the right time
Things happen easily, effortlessly and naturally for me
I always get what I want
Every Lucky Girl, like, ever.
Well, that’s cute. Let’s get down what lies beneath this grateful and oh so lucky surface.
She’s not lucky, she’s privileged (and I don’t think she realises it)
I’m not going to hold any punches here. Lucky Girl Syndrome isn’t down to luck at all. Just like the ‘That Girl’ routine, it all comes down to privilege and benefiting from a system that allows the following groups to get ahead in life:
- White or white passing people
- The able bodied and neurotypical
- People from a middle, upper middle and upper class backgrounds
- ‘Conventionally’ attractive thin people
- People under 30
The power (or placebo) of manifestation
Now that I’ve laid the real source of a Lucky Girl’s luck, let’s take a look at something else that she believes in: manifesting her future.
So what is manifestation? Well, to put it simply, it’s the process of not only thinking aspirational thoughts but believing them to the point that they become a reality. Some might call it the power of positive thinking, others might call it a placebo.
Personally, I don’t have anything against manifesting your dreams as I do believe that hard work, self belief and confidence can pay off. Something I am against, however, is this combination of thinking “I’m so lucky and EVERYTHING always works out for me” and manifestation. I feel like it’s not recognising ones own privilege and how a combination institutional and unconscious bias plays into someone’s ‘luck’.
Therefore, idea of a Lucky Girl manifesting more luck for herself inherently means that she’s going to continue to benefit and contribute to a culture that only benefits herself.
The unfortunate definition of luck with health and wellness
Let’s stop and think about something for a second. If a ‘Lucky Girl’ is defined by her luck in life, then you can argue that there will be those who are deemed to be ‘unlucky’. At this point in time, this is sadly going to be a person of colour from a working class family, who’s going to face many more hurdles to get to the same place in life as their white, middle class (and therefore lucky) counterparts.
I actually explored this topic a couple of years ago and it’s disheartening, if not sadly unsurprising to see that not much has changed in the health and wellness space. It still feels like a realm where white, able bodied middle class women (and yes, I’m aware that I’m ticking ALL these boxes right now) are the flag bearers of health and wellness.
‘Lucky Girl syndrome’ is already fading, so what’s replacing it?
It’s the ‘Vanilla Girl’ aesthetic. As the name sadly suggests, it’s all about being pale skinned and blonde haired. It’s also paired with the idea of ‘clean beauty’, which means skin needs to be glowing, and lashes should only have the lightest touch of mascara on them.
Vanilla Girl deserves her own blog post, but by the time I write it I might already be far behind. Instead, here’s an excellent Refinery 29 article on it.
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